Friday, October 24, 2014

Late Sitting And 5 Days Working

Public sector bankers plan to ask Finance Ministry for 5-day week--19th April 2014

K RAM KUMAR


To submit a cost-benefit analysis; cite 24/7 access to services via ATMs, Net, mobiles
Executives from State-owned banks seem determined to prove to the Finance Ministry that a five-day work week is feasible in the banking sector.
While the ministry turned down bankers’ earlier feelers to this end, this time round, the bankers intend to knock on its doors with a cost-benefit analysis for a five-day week.
The ministry has contended in the past that the cause of financial inclusion would suffer with a shorter week, but bankers feel that in this age of modern technology, a bank is accessible to customers 24/7 via alternative delivery channels such as ATMs, the internet, mobile commerce and business correspondents. Financial Inclusion refers to mainstream banks ensuring all sections of society, in general, and vulnerable groups, in particular, have access to financial products and services at an affordable cost, in a fair, transparent manner.
According to a top public sector bank official, the Indian Banks’ Association will carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the five-day work week pattern and the same will be placed before the ministry for its consideration.
A trade union official wondered why bank employees should be denied the benefits of a five-day week when Central Government employees have been enjoying them for nearly three decades.
To increase efficiency in administration, the Union Government had introduced the five-day week in 1985, increasing daily working hours during the five days by an hour.
According to RBI data, there were 11,75,149 employees working in 169 scheduled commercial banks in the country as of March 2012.
UK view
Outlining the benefits of a five-day week to employees in a note, the UK’s labour department said they could have sufficient rest, time with family, and time for further studies and personal interests.

When it comes to employers, the note said the five-day work week would enhance a company’s efficiency, reduce absenteeism, enhance the enterprise’s competitiveness, and retain talent.
Link Hindu Business Line

Call for 5-day week for state banks resurfaces-

Business Standard 21.04.2014
The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) is reconsidering a long-standing demand from employee unions to keep bank branches open for only five days a week
The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) is reconsidering a long-standing demand from employee unions to keep bank branches open for only five days a week.
IBA has commissioned a study to evaluate the pros and cons of keeping banks shut on Saturdays. The staff unions, under the umbrella of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), refuse to budge on this demand, people familiar with the development told Business Standard.
The merits and the challenges of a five-day week will be placed before the new government by IBA after the general elections, sources said.
Private banks are also IBA members but might choose not to follow such a decision; this would not be so for their state-run counterparts if the government approves. In fact, the Union government had earlier rejected such a proposal on the argument that the public's perception of state-run banks would be further hit.
"Also, at a time when the government and RBI are pushing financial inclusion, reduced working hours for bank branches could be viewed as one step back," said a top executive of a public sector bank.
The staff unions say the extra working hours affecting the health and productivity of staffers. "A five-day week is already available in the international banking system. It is also available here - the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), central and state governments, and companies in the public sector work for (only) five days a week. We have been saying it should be introduced in the banking industry. The government had rejected the proposal but we have been pursuing it through UFBU," said C H Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA).
Unions say such a move is unlikely to affect customer service as alternative channels of delivery - such as ATMs, net banking and phone banking - will allow individuals to conduct banking transactions on weekends. In addition, it is likely to reduce cash transactions and encourage customers to use more of electronic channels for their banking needs.
"Having five days a week will lead to higher productivity and improve the efficiency of bank employees. It will also help banks in reducing cost," said Rajen Nagar, president of AIBEA and general secretary of the Bengal Provincial Bank Employees Association.
RBI's employee union supports the demand. "The work pressure in the banking industry is the highest in the country. Hence, branch banking should be done only during weekdays, keeping in mind the health of employees and their ability to perform. Technology has ensured customers can now have access to their bank accounts 24x7, without going to branches," said Samir Ghosh, general secretary of the All India Reserve Bank Employees Association.
Branch banking at top private banks is available for six days, though some allow employees to take one compensatory leave a month for working on Saturdays. Hence, many fear state-run lenders will lose market share if private banks continue to offer branch banking for six days.
However, union members are hopeful that the five-day week for branch banking, if decided, will be introduced for all banks uniformly.by bs 21.04.2014
Link Business Standard

Bankers' Dream of 5 Day Working Shattered-By Sri Rajesh Goyal
I have been receiving reports for over a week now that new Government at the Centre is mulling with the idea of reverting to six days week or at least tweaking with the current working hours enjoyed by government employees.   I have restrained about writing on the issue as I would have been dubbed as pessimistic and I was hoping that it will remain as a rumor only.    However, today (5th June, 2014) the report in ET (New Regime Plans to Increase Working Hours) clearly indicates that reports we have received earlier were not without substance.

ET report is a major blow to Dream of Bankers for 5 Day Working in Banks.   We know that 5 day working was introduced in Central Government almost 30 years back during Rajiv Gandhi regime.  At that time I had served only for five years in bank.   We kept on dreaming for next 25 years that some day 5 day banking  will be introduced in banks too.   However, no union leaders took it seriously and  I and number of my colleagues have retired.    I still remember, in earlier days we were told that India can not be compared to western countries of 5 day banking as they have lot of ATMs and thus general public is not affected by closure of banking on Saturdays.   However, it was not a convincing argument yet I thought that whenever India will have fairly good number of ATMs, we will be able to have 5 day week at least for the next generation of bankers.   This never happened though last decade have seen mushrooming of ATMs across India.

Our readers are well aware that in my several articles, I have advised our UFBU leaders to delink this issue from wage revision as it had nothing common with wage revision.   However,  UFBU has always tried to link it with wage revision so as to befool the cadres as it was an emotive issue.    Even in the last meeting of negotiations held on 14th March 2014,  instead of discussing the increase in salaries,  their main agenda was to raise this emotive issue.   UFBU circular of the date  starts to read as  “Carrying forward the discussions held in the last round of talks, some of the important issues like introduction of 5 day Banking, regulated working hours for officers etc. were discussed further.   While appreciating our viewpoints, IBA wanted further inputs from the Unions in order to examine the issues and to take up the matter with higher authorities”. 


With a single stroke of the above ET report, now UFBU leaders will have no face to raise this issue as nobody in the IBA will even like to take this matter to higher authorities, let alone convince GoI officials to agree to such a proposal.  With much stronger government at the centre and Left parties trying to save their face, who will have the guts in IBA / UFBU to take this issue seriously in the forthcoming meetings?   Thus, the wrong strategy on the part of the UFBU has resulted in neither focusing on 5 days week nor on honourable rise in salary for the bankers.

Thus, I feel that for the time being the dream of bankers for 5 days week is shattered and UFBU needs to focus on core issue to bring bankers at par with the salaries of the central government.   If still they do not understand these basics of negotiations, then Aam Bankers may teach them a lesson in days to come by mass exodus from these old and tired unions.  The issue of 5 days working should be discussed only after completion of 10th BPS negotiations. 

Source allbankingsolutions.com

Longer working hours for bureaucrats likely

Longer in Office
NEW DELHI



Tough questions form part of new PM's plan to vet performance of top bureaucrats
How good are you -and how much do you work? The Narendra Modi government is asking these questions of senior bureaucrats and planning to put in a new appraisal and working hour system. Bureaucrats are being quietly appraised on parameters like their project delivery record, neutrality and dedication to work -plus, the Narendra Modi government is set to change a 29-year-old rule instituted by the Rajiv Gandhi government to ensure government officials put in more hours at work.At least two senior officials in know of the developments have told either by making each Saturday or alternate Saturdays a working day or sticking to the 5-day week system but extending the daily work hours on the five working days from 8 AM to 6 PM or even 8 AM to 8 PM,“ one senior official said, not willing to be identified. “An alternative could be to stick to the 5-day week system but extend the daily work hours on the five working days from 8 am to 6 pm or even 8 am to 8 pm.
The matter is being discussed,“ the official added.At present, the working hours for central government officials, as per an order issued in 1985, are 9 am to 5 am with a 30-minute lunch break and each weekend being off.Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Personnel, Jitendra Singh, said he would not reveal if any move was afoot to increase the working hours for bureaucrats. “There is no official circular by us yet. If something is issued, we will duly inform you from the Prime Minister's Office,“ Singh told ET.
A silent appraisal of top bureaucrats is also on that could be the basis for a reshuffle in secretary-level and other senior positions soon. An official of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) aware of this exercise said bureaucrats are being assessed on four parameters: Past performance, quickness of delivery , dedication to work and neutrality. “Past performance of a period of over a decade is being taken into consideration as well as achievements specific to quick delivery of targets. Dedication to work is a key parameter and bureaucrats devoting time to hanging out at clubs or page 3 activities may find themselves out in the cold in this government,” this official told ET.
“Neutrality or political non-allegiance” is another key factor being analysed for bureaucrats who are holding senior positions in the government, the official quoted earlier said. Many bureaucrats right now in secretary-level and other senior positions are perceived to be close to the erstwhile UPA government since it was in power for the last decade and had appointed all of them to these posts.
Modi has met all secretaries to the governmen on Wednesday evening to lay out a policy map for the bureaucracy.
“What is being checked is whether the bureaucrat is neutral in his work and does not let his political preferences cloud his decision-making activity,” an official said. Modi himself works nearly 18 hours a day and his “I-mean-Business” approach is already percolating down the bureaucracy with most secretaries and other senior officials arriving in their offices sharp by 9 am and working late till 8 pm these days, very much like the new ministers. The changeover from a 6-day week to a 5-day week happened in 1985 – an initiative by the then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
A May 21, 1985 order had stressed a 5-day week was important for “improving the efficiency of the administration.”

LATE SITTING IN BANKS - A BRIEF ANALYSIS –

( From Mr. V. Subramanian)

It Needs To Be Eradicated. Late sitting in offices causes severest pain and discomfort not only to staff but also to to children and spouse of staff members who habitually or under compulsion sit late. 

Staff who are constrained to sit late on few occasions due to urgency of work is acceptable . But it is painful when staff who is number one flatterer or who are under fear of action sit late but who actually do not perform in proportion to late sitting hours in bank are harmful. Such lass of staff not only make their life miserable but also creates unwarranted guilty mind in those who do not like to sit late due to their attachment with their family and due to social obligation .

Nobody likes to sit late at the office except occasionally. It’s more a forced choice rather than a voluntary action on the part of the persons concerned. Late sitting occurs because of the bad organizational climate and culture. Whoever wants to sit late in the office does so, only with a view to please his boss and earn his goodwill, but loses interest and faith in late sitting, in course of time.

Another important fact is, such people do not make any significant contribution as is expected in the following areas:

(a) Increasing the output

(b) Clearing the backlog of work

(c) Solving the organizational problems

(d) Taking up certain specialized jobs or assignments that cannot be otherwise done during the regular office hours, because such jobs demand total concentration, uninterrupted functioning and special type of skills

(e) Attending to certain confidential matters


Evil effects of late sitting



The anticipated benefits in the above-mentioned area are a mere management ploy to extract more time and energy – without matching qualitative output – from the persons concerned. By sitting late, neither the persons concerned nor their institution gain anything. In fact, both tend to lose heavily. From the employees’ side, they undergo tremendous strain and stress and whatever work they do or pretend to do after regular office hours leads to losing one’s morale and motivation. From the organizational point of view, on the face of it, it may appear that extra output has been achieved. But in reality, people’s efficiency gradually comes down during the day and at one point, it tapers off.



People commit a lot of mistakes after doing hectic work for 8 continuous hours which has been the universally accepted time limit for a man day. If people are compelled to work beyond 8 hours a day and 42 hours a week, the consequences will be disastrous.



1. First, those who work for extra hours (beyond the prescribed work schedule) do not receive any worthwhile compensation and are blatantly cheated by their management.

2. Second, the people will pretend to work in the late hours, but really they will be wasting their time and precious resources of the institution.

3. The enhanced physical strain and psychological stress will reflect upon badly on the health and ability of the personnel.

4. Sensitive people will lose their self-confidence and it will hurt their ego and pride.

5. There is also a danger of their being branded as ‘slow, lazy, inefficient and obsolete’ by the management. It will affect their reputation and career progression.

6. Late sitting deprives a person of sleep for minimum duration, every day.

7. Late sitting results in accidents inside the office or outside, while on travel.

8. Only during the late hours, conspiracies are hatched, rumour mills are very active, vilification campaign is at its best, misinformation and canards are spread and frauds and malpractices are planned and perpetrated.

9. Working overtime deprives employment opportunities for the present generation youth.

10. Working for long, continuous hours make people very rigid and their behavior pattern also undergoes a change – from good to bad and bad to worse.

11. Those who work for extra hours, as proved by many empirical studies, devise their own compensation package and they try to recover the difference between the perceived ideal level and the actual level, through immoral and illegal ways. They indulge in all kinds of activities to the detriment of their parent organization.

12. At the macro level also, there is no value addition to the national economy, by asking people to work for long, continuous hours

The managements, the trade unions, the industrial bodies/associations, the statutory regulator and the government shall together sit and find a suitable exit route for this evil practice to end over a period of time, say 2 or 3 years from now


During last two  years banks have opened more than 5000 brnaches in rural areas without adding number in their total manpower . Business of banks have almsot doubled without any increase in total number of staff .In the name of Financial exclusion , management of each bank is busy in making effort to please minister and forcing available staff to work in late hours and on Sundays and holidays.As such bank staff are facing Social Exclusion in their effort to get success in Financial Inclusion






Quality of work done by such bank is therefore At   BHAGWAN BHAROSE in many branches and only future will tell the story of hidden Fraud and Hidden Bad assets

http://importantbankingnews.blogspot.in/2013/04/late-sitting-in-banks.html



Late Sitting Only Lead TO Success in Banks?


This excellent write up from Mr. Pannvalan actually, does the same in the following lines:  

1.  Increasing the organizational output

It is only a myth that late sitting results in added output. It may result in 20% additional output, but it will be often accompanied by the following ill effects.

Click on Following Link To read More
http://importantbankingnews.blogspot.in/2013/02/late-sitting-only-lead-to-success-in.html


Challenge for banks: Get people to join up, stay--Business Line


    A. J. VINAYAK

    L. N. REVATHY

Recently, at the graduation day ceremony in a B-school near Mangalore, some students approached a former senior banker, who is the head of academic council there, for his blessings before starting off on their career in banking. He had this piece of advice for them: “Build loyalty to the organisation you work for.”
When we posed the question of loyalty to another banker, who heads the regional office of a public sector bank in Mangalore, he said: “That is for later. The first challenge is to get people to join the banking sector.”
Citing the example of his bank, he said there were over 900 vacancies for the post of officers. After completion of the selection process, hardly 200 among the short-listed candidates confirmed their willingness to join. And, finally, only 20 per cent actually joined the bank.
Lest we thought the problem was unique to his bank, he hastened to add: “This is not limited to our bank alone. It is an industry problem.”

NOT SATISFIED

Here is another instance: Four people joined a public sector bank in Mangalore city as probationary officers. No sooner had they joined the bank, than they started surfing the Net for better opportunities in other sectors. A banker in the know of this happening, said the new recruits were told about the benefits of a bank job vis-à-vis those in other sectors.
A fresher in an IT company gets a CTC (cost-to-company) compensation of Rs 3 lakh a year. “When we calculated the CTC for a fresher in a public sector bank in a place like Mangalore, it added up to around Rs 5 lakh a year. We considered only monetary gains and other incentives to the fresher, unlike the new-economy IT companies that take into account even the place where the fresher sits while calculating CTC,” the banker said.
Besides, banks also offer accommodation/quarters at some locations.
But these benefits don’t seem to impress many engineers and B-school graduates, for whom a bank job is only a stopgap arrangement. “They join a bank only because they want a job. And before long, quit to join elsewhere,” said a banker in Coimbatore. Bankers feel that management grads and engineers are overqualified for clerical jobs in a bank, yet they apply and get in because they want to be employed somewhere.
A public sector bank official says the trend is almost similar in the officer category too.
“Even if they join as probationary officers, they don’t stick on for long as in the past. They are invariably posted to the credit section and are set responsibilities. The present day youth is not prepared to take on the burden of responsibility. Youngsters feel their package is not commensurate with the hours they toil in the bank.”

METRO FOCUS

There are some who want jobs only in the metros. If employed in banks, they will have to work in villages too. This is a different kind of challenge, said a banker. Often, when candidates join and quit shortly thereafter, the vacancies are never filled.
Secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause Kathirmathiyon is of the view that banks should ask for a bond to control this exodus. “Such candidates are denying the opportunity to other aspirants. If they had joined a private company, they would have had to settle their dues if they quit before serving the notice period,” he said.













‘LATE SITTING IN BANKS’ a menace asking for a serious look within.---- Collected from 

Himadri Sekhar Bhatttacharjee


‘musings of life’ renews its pledge on the eve of new year setting in, against the horrific menace tramping down all humane values, meddling with human dignity, self-respect, in our society and now, keeping in line with similar happenings worldwide,  have started to bare its  fangs in workplaces of India INC.

’WORK PLACE BULLYING’ has become the major cause of concern for HR honchos and the most exhilarating force behind ‘attrition’ in many work places of India INC.

Though we can derive solace from the fact that, ‘WORK PLACE BULLYING’ it is neither an unique happening nor happening for the first time in India and work places worldwide have already got inflicted with this menace, the dangerous fact is that, in it’s short stint in India, it could engulf Indian banks to a considerable extent.

Here, this thing is kept under wraps and have been happening in discreet forms, be it by inducing employees to work till late hours on regular basis or showering abusive phrases in ‘managers meetings’ etc.

While the world becomes vocal in rising against this menace, as seen below, India remains considerably silent.

1. Workplace Bullying Tied to More Prescriptions for Antidepressants - Test Country.com (blog)

2.Workplace Bullying Linked to Increased Use of Psychotropic - Medscape

3.On the Job: How to battle bullying at work - USA TODAY

4.Workplace bullying at its worst: employer told to pay $100000 - Lexology(registration)


‘LATE SITTING IN WORKPLACE’ a form of manifestation of ‘workplace bullying in Indian banks, where, employees are compelled to sit for late hours to appease some boss’s tendency to peg down all feelings of their fellow employees under their monumental egos, needs to be looked with awe and considerable public opinion should be formed against this menace.

Why late sittings are at all required in view of all those brouhaha on streamlining of workloads through introduction of innovative systemes, outsourcing and headfirst migration to CBS? Even female employees are compelled to stay late, overlooking their safety and conveniences.

If so warranted, the working hours itself,  can be increased, albeit, after  consultation with employees’ unions and with enhanced pay and perks for the same, woven in the pay structure.

But, when a mutually agreed ‘working hour’ is set in, why employees are to be coerced to stay beyond that,while, the pay and perks are always negotiated on the basis of the official ‘working hours’??


What shall be done to prevent/end this abhorring practice of late sitting?

The managements, the trade unions, the industrial bodies/associations, the statutory regulator and the government shall together sit and find a suitable exit route for this evil practice to end over a period of time, say 2 or 3 years from now.  It is really surprising to note that when people talk of globalization and economic liberalization, no one talks about the best labour practices being adopted and put in place in the developed countries. 
Any organization found to encourage late sitting as an integral part of organizational culture must be severely penalized.  Such organizations may be told to set aside a part of their gross income/profit for social causes like laying roads, construction of schools and hospitals and meeting the cost of new projects for the supply of drinking water and power and also ordered to pay higher taxes to the government.

The media also shall play its role more responsibly in this matter.  They shall not encourage those organizations which exploit their manpower by forcing them to sit late almost on a regular basis.  The loss of jobs due to this ugly phenomenon must be suitably highlighted and a nation-wide awareness campaign must be conducted by the media on a sustaining basis. 

Conclusion
The ‘late sitting’ culture harms individuals, their families, the society and the nation and it must be curbed and eradicated, so that the country’s pride will go up. 
As already stated, sitting late inside one’s office/factory does not help anyone.  The employees must shed their false belief that sitting late will fetch them greater benefits like good placement, quick promotion etc.  It is only an illusion. The time spent on working for extra hours can be utilized for more fruitful purposes like being with the family, sleeping well for minimum hours, daily commutation/travel and pursuing one’s hobbies and interests. 
If one lives one’s life, by devoting adequate time for each important aspect of one’s life in an optimum way, the nation’s health and wealth will be safe, secure and growing.  It will bring down the crime rate in the society and lead India to gaining a better score on the ‘Human Development Index’.  Are we prepared for a better India tomorrow?


Let us try to understand what Mr. Narayana Murthy, Tries to Say in the following lines:

1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play with your kids, etc.
5) Eat well and sleep well.

"LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY

(Because you never know when it stops loving you)" - 

  -----Mr. Narayana Murthy


Please read following link to know how late sitting in bank has resulted in Social exclusion of staff while serving for Financial Inclusion

http://importantbankingnews.blogspot.in/2013/04/financial-inclusion-has-resulted-in.html

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